Chief Counsel

John Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field; Ohio; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The John Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field seeks a Chief Counsel to serve as the senior legal adviser to the Center Director and staff, reporting to the NASA General Counsel. This executive role leads the center's legal office, aligns policy and law with agency standards, and coordinates with the NASA Legal Enterprise.

The Chief Counsel oversees staff, litigation matters, ethics, and the center's patent program, and collaborates across NASA to ensure compliant, efficient legal operations for

Qualifications

• Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQ) required for SES roles.
• Resume must clearly address ECQs and MTQ with specific examples.
• ECQ summaries and MTQ accomplishments should be documented in a single 2-page resume.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive legal guidance to the Center Director and staff on policy and law for GRC activities.
• Oversee the center's legal office staff and coordinate with NASA Legal Enterprise and OGC.
• Represent NASA interests in litigation and coordinate with DOJ when needed.
• Ensure ethics administration and administration of the center's patent program.

Skills

ECQ 1 Rule of Law

ECQ 2 Efficiency

ECQ 3 Merit & Competence

ECQ 4 Leading People

ECQ 5 Achieving Results

MTQ Legal Leadership

Education

J.D. or LL.M

Job description

Summary

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), John Glenn Research Center (GRC) is recruiting for the role of Chief Counsel, an executive leadership position reporting directly to the NASA General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The Chief Counsel serves as the senior legal adviser to the GRC Center Director and staff on all matters of legal policy and law related to GRC activities, conducted in alignment with agency-wide legal standards.

Duties

The Chief Counsel:

• Serves as the Chief Counsel and senior legal adviser to John Glenn Research Center (GRC) Center Director and staff on all matters of legal policy and law in connection with activities at GRC. The Chief Counsel reports directly to the NASA General Counsel on the provision of legal services NASA-wide and develops local procedures and policy consistent with and in coordination with the Agency General Counsel.
• Directly responsible for the oversight and supervision of staff members of the center's legal office and other staff members from the NASA Legal Enterprise as may be assigned. Develops and executes Center's legal staffing plan, legal office procurement budget, and overall legal operations in close coordination with the NASA Legal Enterprise and as part of the Enterprise's annual Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) cycle.
• Directly responsible for coordination with the NASA Office of General Counsel (OGC), as well as other OGC counsel and management officials, and other NASA officials either directly or in conjunction with the Center Director in the areas of policy, program objectives, funding, and other pertinent activities.
• Represents NASA interests in litigation in which the Center is a party and provides advice and assistance to the Department of Justice.
• Accepts process or pleadings in legal proceedings on behalf of the Center Director and takes all necessary further actions to protect NASA's interests in real or personal property and adjudicates claims presented to the Center for personal injury or damage to or loss of real or personal property.
• Ensures legal representation in matters involving other Federal, state, and local Government agencies when the Center's interests are involved and as required in formal regulatory proceedings where the Center's interests require representation and in appropriate courts and administrative agencies.
• Exercises responsibilities delegated to Center Chief Counsel in NASA agency directives, is responsible to the Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official for all ethics activities at the Center, and is responsible for the administration of the Center's patent program.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report' (OGE-278e) within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
• Initial Senior Executive Service (SES) Career appointee is subject to a one-year probationary period.
• Successful completion of a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
• Successful completion of pre-employment and random drug testing may be required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance as required by the position.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.

Qualifications

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service (SES) under a career appointment, you must clearly articulate and describe within your 2-page resume that you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications MTQ related to this position. If your 2-page resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of the ECQs and MTQ, you may be disqualified. Any additional pages over the 2-page limit will not be reviewed. Please DO NOT submit separate documents addressing the ECQs or MTQ. Only your 2-page resume will be accepted and considered. Any additional documents submitted will not be accepted. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECqs) For more information on the ECQs, please visit OPM's ECQ webpage. ECQ 1 - Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding: This core qualification requires a demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people. Competencies: Knowledge of the American System of Government, Commitment to the Rule of Law, and Civic-Mindedness ECQ 2 - Driving Efficiency: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades. Competencies: Fiscal Responsibility, Managing Resources, Leveraging Technology ECQ 3 - Merit and Competence: This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality. Competencies: Technical Skill, Problem Solving, Agility and Resilience ECQ 4 - Leading People: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable. Competencies: Accountability, Developing Others, Executive Judgment ECQ 5 - Achieving Results - This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors. Competencies: Operational Mindset, Innovation, Strategic Thinking MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ): Your resume must include accomplishments that address the MTQ. MTQ: Demonstrated expertise and experience leading legal teams responsible for providing guidance on complex legal issues and litigation at a local and enterprise level, communicating legal guidance with a varied workforce, in three or more of the following legal areas: procurement, intellectual property, commercial partnership and interagency transactions, international & space, appropriations, employment, administrative, real property, environmental, security and safety, and ethics. Competencies: Technical Work and Team Management, Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence If you are using a 2-page resume that meets ECQs and MTQ, submit it as a single document. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of artificial intelligent (AI) or AI-assisted tools during the application process.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement. To be eligible, you must clearly state in your resume the following: degree, major and/or minor, and college/university. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. You must possess a J.D. or LL.M from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be a member in good standing of a bar in a state/territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, click here.

Additional information

Veterans' preference is not applicable to the SES.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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